While many designers utilize the technique of bordering a
yacht’s built-in furniture with carpet in a different pattern than the central
design, Fields says that recently he’s received requests for a look he describes
as "a rug within a carpet," featuring a loop pile for the field and a cut pile
of different height and texture in the center rug. "This works well for a
central seating area where there is less traffic on the cut pile," says
Fields.
 Tongue and groove mahogany and an antique Persian
carpet replicate yachting’s Golden Age aboard the sloop Savannah. Photograph courtesy Ken Maguire. (Click image to enlarge)
Dickie Bannenberg, who has taken the reins of his famous late
father’s design studio, sees a trend toward luxury and unusual fibers. "We are
doing a really groovy retro-contemporary residence [read Austin Powers] in
London that mixes walnut parquet with ultra-soft cut pile carpets in natural,
light brown llama wool. It is unbelievably soft and just invites you to lounge
on the floor," he says.
Two examples of cut pile carpets
featuring 19th century designs. Top: In the salon, aboard the 138-foot
Baglietto Blue
Eyes, the Chinoise-style area rug is placed atop a
planked floor. Designer Francesco Paszkowski has used the rug to unify the
sitting area and reinforce the design’s classic themes. Bottom:
Designer John Munford used a compass rose motif for a rug within a carpet look
to create a signature space in the lower foyer of the Feadship Rasselas. (Click images to enlarge)
While all luxury fibers – mohair and silk included – command a
luxury price, Bannenberg considers the llama carpet’s cost moderate at $150 per
square yard.
Oliver Treutlein is the owner of upscale OT Carpets in
Meerbusch, Germany. Among his new offerings is a linen-wool blend where the
fibers are mixed in the spinning process. "The linen fibers add a patina, an
old-world luster, to the floor and are more practical than wool-silk blends,"
says Treutlein. OT carpets are woven in Switzerland and finished in Germany by
hand. "The sisal look is out in Europe," Treutlein says. "Today it is all about
richness and colors, flowers or decoration at full volume."
 Scott Cole of Ardeo Design in Seattle reports that aboard most
of his recent commissions, main-deck rooms feature varnished teak plank floors
loosely covered with custom area rugs that sometimes give the illusion that furniture is sitting on top of them. "It’s the casual elegance look for the
Pacific Northwest," Cole says. "Typically, our clients who want wall-to-wall
will choose a field [borderless] carpet. If you use a border detail, I think you
have to follow that throughout the yacht." But wood floors, often with stone
inlay, says Cole, are still his top request. (Click image to enlarge)
Top: The Heesen 3700 Lady Ingeborg, showcases
the latest trend in modern wood soles. Designer Frank Laupman created ash
chevrons splined with stainless steel bands. Bottom: A charming, modern
hand-knotted carpet in colorful Himalayan wool by Odegard called "Go
Fish." (Click images to enlarge)
Carolina designer Dawn Moffitt also reports that non-carpet
tactile surfaces are in. Two of her favorites are new twists on old ideas. Cork
tile, for example – the yacht flooring of choice in the 1950s – is making a comeback. This resilient, natural acoustic material is now available in several
patterns and subtle shadings and can be infused with antimicrobal agents, which
makes it perfect for galley floors. Another renewable resource making its way
into yacht flooring is bamboo. "For those who like the tradition of a
planked floor, bamboo offers a more contemporary twist and it is very durable,"
said Moffitt. "We are also incorporating glass and metal tiles as decorative
elements in wood and stone floors."
In the constrained confines of yacht interiors, every design
element plays a critical role but none more so than floor coverings. Retro,
modern or in between, floor coverings establish design themes from the bottom
up.
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